Rock Of Ages And That’s My Boy Bomb At Friday’s Box Office

Star-studded films That’s My Boy and Rock of Ages debuted this weekend to dismal fanfare, falling short of the #1 spot held by Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted and #2 held by Prometheus.

According to Deadline, Rock of Ages took in $5.3 million on Friday, an unexpected shortfall from New Line/Warner Bros’ expectations. With a budget of $75 million, the musical’s weekend gross is likely to make less than a fifth of that amount.

On the other hand, The Hollywood Reporter says that Adam Sandler’s flick grossed only $4.6 million, his lowest comedy opening since Spanglish.

Both films have garnered less than stellar reviews. Rock of Ages has a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and That’s My Boy has received universally negative reviews. The Examiner tells its readers that gargling paint thinner or chugging down garbage juice is better than watching the film and MLive laments that the movie is Adam Sandler is at his absolute worst. On Rotten Tomatoes, users have unanimously decried the film and bestowed it a generous 24% rating. Our very own review is less kind, reporting that it is “one of the most morally reprehensible comedies of all time.”

With one film singing the mediocre blues and the other rearing backlash and its condemning hateful siblings, neither is predicted to be making any comebacks critically and financially. Can’t say I was going to see either movie this weekend, so the reactions have cemented my non-viewing position.

What do you guys think of the movies and their states this weekend? Do they deserve to debut so poorly? And how will they end up doing by Monday morning, can they turn things around?